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Abstract Thinking - ability to form or understand concepts that are not seen or that cannot be touched; sometimes involves categorizing information, generalizing, or applying rules and principles; often impaired in individuals with cognitive deficits Adaptive/Assistive Equipment - a special piece of equipment or device that can assist one in performing a skill or activity ADL - activity of daily living such as bathing, grooming or dressing Agitated - a state of continued restlessness or purposeless activity Ambulate - to walk Amnesia - partial or total loss of memory Amnesia Posttraumatic - a period of loss of consciousness and/or clouded consciousness following a traumatic brain injury Aneurysm - a balloon like expansion of blood vessels in the brain subject to rupture causing a hemorrhage in the brain Anoxia - loss of oxygen to the brain which can cause severe brain damage Anticonvulsant - a medication which is used to treat seizures or epilepsy - many individuals who sustain damage to their brain may be given these medications as a precaution to prevent the development of seizures. Common anticonvulsants include: Tegretol, Depakote, Dilantin, Keppra, and Lamictal Antidepressant - medication used to treat depression the most common are: Prozac, Zoloft, Effexor, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil and Wellbutrin Anxiety - a feeling of apprehension, uncertainty, fear or tension that stems from the anticipation of danger which may be real or without apparent reason Aphasia - difficulties, ranging from mild to severe in understanding or using language. Forms of aphasia include:
Apraxia - difficulty of loss of ability in performing well learned skills when there is no impairment of motor function generally associated with damage to the left side of the brain - for example - an individual does not know how to use a comb or may try to use a toothbrush to comb their hair. Articulation - contractions or movement of the tongue, lips, pharynx and palate for the purpose of producing speech Aspiration - swallowing of food or liquid into the lungs Assistive Device - any piece of equipment that is used to help with the performance of an activity such as a walker or cane Ataxia - inability to coordinate voluntary motor movements due to a lesion in the cerebellum; can interfere with ability to walk Attention/Concentration - ability to attend to or focus on a particular task or stimulus while filtering out extraneous noise or other environmental stimulation Auditory Comprehension Deficits - difficulties understanding spoken language Augmentative Device - a device or piece of equipment that can amplify or clarify sound such as a hearing aid; or to assist with communication such as a communication board, sign language or other speech system Balance - the ability to maintain upright posture and position; usually tested when standing or when sitting, or getting from a sitting to standing position Bilateral - referring to something on both sides Catheter - a device used to withdraw fluids from or introduce fluid into the body; often used to drain urine from the bladder Cerebral Vascular Accident - a blockage or rupture of the vascular system of the brain - also known as a stroke Chronic - persisting over a long period of time Cognitive Deficits - refers to deficits sustained as a result of an injury in the brain involving mental slowing; attentional problems, decreased cognitive efficiency, decreased ability to solve problems, think abstractly, and an inability to do things as well as you did before the injury Coma - refers to an individual who is unconscious and is unresponsive to stimulation Communication Disorder - a group of disorders that refer to the ability to understand spoken or written language, or a failure to be able to communicate using spoken or written language - it involves the failure to be able to receive or process symbols (i.e. letters) Compensate - ability to use a strategy or technique to make up for a cognitive deficit Comprehension - the ability to understand - to process language and its meaning at various levels of complexity Concentration Deficits - inability to maintain purposeful attention Concrete Thinking - difficulty thinking abstractly or understanding the meaning of symbols and word - interpreting things literally rather than being able to grasp the meaning - as in a proverb or an expression of speech Continence - ability to control bowel or bladder functions Contracture - a condition of fixed high resistance to passive stretch of a muscle due to shortening of the soft tissue - results in loss of range of motion Cueing - providing a verbal or physical prompt to help someone perform an activity Denial (Neglect) - is the result of a lesion in the brain and can range from denial of an illness or lack of awareness of stimuli or objects on one side of space Depression - a condition characterized by dejected mood, hopelessness, slowed motor behavior, insomnia, irrational feelings of guilt - this is a common behavioral problem following stroke or brain injury, often treated with medication and/or counseling Diplopia - also known as double vision - seeing two images of something instead of one Disorientation - confusion about the date, or time of day, where on is (place), or who one is (identity) Distractibility - inability to focus or pay attention or inability to sustain attention or concentration Dysarthria - difficulty articulating or forming words- it produces distortions in speech including slurring, making it difficult for the listener to understand what is being said Dysphagia - difficulty swallowing Dyspnea - labored breathing Edema - swelling, presence of abnormal amounts of fluid in the tissue of the body Emotional lability - describes the state of rapid and/or extreme shifts or changes in emotions - moving from anger to happiness to sadness Endotracheal Tube - a tube that serves as an artificial airway - it is connected to the respirator. It is inserted through the client's mouth and passes through the throat and vocal cords into the airways - while it is in place the individual is unable to speak Euphoria - abnormally elevated mood Exacerbation - increase in severity of the disease or any of its symptoms Executive Functions - functions that are located in the frontal lobes and form the center of decision making, planning, organization, judgment, and reasoning - these functions need to be intact for appropriate, socially responsible behavior to occur Expressive Aphasia - difficulty in producing language Extremity - refers to arms or legs Field Defects - areas of blindness within the visual field or one or both eyes Frustration Tolerance - refers to the ability to deal with frustrating or upsetting situations by controlling one's emotional responses rather than becoming angry and out of control Functional - refers to transferring and incorporating skills to perform meaningful activities Gait Disorders - describes disturbances in walking Generalization - ability to use information learned in one setting and apply it to a similar situation G- Tube - a tube inserted into an opening in the stomach which is used to introduce liquids, food and medication in an individual who cannot take these by mouth Hemi- refers to one side or one half of the body Hemianopia - defective vision or blindness in one half of the visual field Hemiparesis - weakness on one side of the body Hemiplegia - paralysis on one side of the body Hemorrhage - bleeding; the escape of blood from a blood vessel Hydrocephalus - a condition characterized by abnormal accumulation of fluid in the brain accompanied by enlargement of the head Hypertension - abnormally high blood pressure, implicated in strokes involving ruptured blood vessels in the brain Hypotension - abnormally low blood pressure - can result in dizziness if the individual stands up too quickly Hypoxia - reduction of supply of oxygen to the brain, if prolonged will result in severe brain damage Immediate memory - working memory; 30 seconds to several minutes in duration, is the first stage in storing memories Impulse Control - refers to the ability to inhibit or withhold or control inappropriate responses or behaviors - people with poor impulse control act or speak first without considering the consequences Inappropriate Affect - emotional response which does not fit the situation - i.e. laughing at a funeral Incontinent - inability to control one's urine or bowels Infarct - an area of dead or dying tissue resulting from an obstruction of a blood vessel in the brain (a stroke) Insight - the level of self understanding, appreciation of the condition, being fully aware of the degree of one's deficits and the consequences for ability to perform activities and tasks Intracerebral Hemorrhage - bleeding within the brain Intracranial Pressure - build up of pressure in the brain following an injury often due to swelling of the brain Irritability - tendency to respond with annoyance or impatience Ischemia - deficiency of blood in a part of the brain due to a constriction or obstruction of a blood vessel Labile/Lability - emotional instability Language Disorder - refers to any number of disorders involving language including all the forms of aphasia Long Term Memory - the storage of information in a code that is resistant to interference Memory - the process of recording and learning new information. Can be divided into several different types:
Meningitis - infection of the cerebrospinal fluid - symptoms include fever, headache, followed by drowsiness, confusion, loss of consciousness, sometimes seizures - many patients may have residual cognitive deficits following recovery Mood - emotional tone; prevailing emotional state without reference to an external cause Motor Control - ability to regulate motor movements to produce smooth and coordinated movement - is mediated by the central nervous system Nasogastric (NG) Tube - a tube that passes through the client's nose and mouth directly into the stomach to allow for direct feeding of liquids Neglect - seen Denial/Neglect Orientation - awareness of self in relationship to one's surroundings - and ability to use this information for functional tasks Palsy - paralysis Paralysis - loss or impairment of motor function Paraplegia - paralysis of both lower extremities Perception - the processes used in acquiring through the senses knowledge of the environment - includes awareness, recognition, and discrimination; making sense of what one hears, sees and touches Perseveration - inappropriate continuation of an activity after the completion of the task Physiatrist - a physician who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation Posttraumatic Amnesia (PTA) - the period of clouded consciousness which precedes the attainment of full orientation and continuous awareness in persons recovering from head injuries; during this period of time the individual is unable to form continuous memories or organize information in any meaningful way. The length of PTA varies based on the severity of the injury, and is often used as a measure of the severity of the injury. Posture/Postural - refers to the position of the body in space (i.e. upright) and affects the individual's ability to walk, stand without assistance and sit without assistance. Premorbid - a condition or symptom that is present prior to the injury or illness Problem Solving - the ability to use all the information presented and evaluate options to generate solutions to a problem or situation; part of the set of skills called executive functions Prognosis - the possibility of recovery from an injury or illness based on the symptoms and severity of the injury Prompt - a cue which is either verbal or physical that is provided to assist and individual in initiating or performing a task Proprioception - sensory awareness of the position of the body parts in space. Q: every QAM every Morning QPM - every Night - also QHS QD - every day QH - every hour Range of Motion (ROM) - refers to movement in a joint such as shoulders, knees, elbow - important to avoid contractures Recognition - remembering an object or word when presented among alternatives Reflex - an automatic response to a stimulus such as a knee jerk; unlearned Rehabilitation - an organized treatment approach designed to maximize an individual's recovery process Residual - the symptoms or problems that remain after substantial recovery has occurred Retention - the extent to which an individual can recall previously learned information Retrieval Problems - difficulty recalling words or memories Retrograde Amnesia - difficulty in recalling memories formed days or weeks before the onset of the injury Seizures - uncontrolled electrical stimulation in the brain usually producing uncontrollable movements and changes in consciousness Sequencing - ability to put things in order correctly - can refer to verbal (words in a sentence), visual (ordering things from large to small), motor (putting motor steps in the proper order to complete a task) Shunt - a surgically placed tube running from the ventricles to draw off excessive fluid in the brain Slowed Cognitive Functions - usually the result of trauma or insult to the brain whereby the cognitive processes are slowed and reaction times are longer and the time required to process information and make decisions is delayed Spasticity - an involuntary increase in muscle tone that occurs following injury to the brain or spinal cord - this causes muscles to resist being moved. Stroke - (CVA) sudden appearance of neurological symptoms as a result of a severe interruption of blood flow to an area of the brain Supervision Level - the level of help or assistance an individual requires with the actual presence of another person with them Traumatic Brain Injury - a brain injury sustained in an accident, fall or assault involving a blow to the head or penetrating wound as in a gunshot Unilateral - on one side Urinary Incontinence - inability to control urine Vertigo - feeling of whirling, rotation or spinning, weakness, swaying or lightheadedness Vestibular System - this system's function is to maintain and adjust posture Visual Field Defect - not perceiving information in one part of the visual field either on the left or right Word Finding Disorder - having difficulty finding the right words to use when speaking
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